Merkley and Wyden Join Bipartisan Group Supporting
The Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act of 2015
Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today put their significant support behind a bipartisan measure that would give legitimate businesses acting in compliance with state marijuana laws access to the banking system, including protection against prosecution or asset forfeiture solely for providing services to a state-sanctioned marijuana-related business.
Like legal marijuana stakeholders in Oregon and Washington, most US cannabis entrepreneurs have a don’t ask don’t tell relationship with their financial institution. In fact, it’s likely that every day in the US a bank is exposed, usually unwillingly, to the reality that one of their customers is a cannabis business and the account is closed. As recent as last year, Oregon’s only viable banking solution for cannabis businesses, MBank, started and then failed to service marijuana stakeholders in Oregon, Washington and even Colorado.
The Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act of 2015 offer yet another layer of protection for financial institutions that will offer services to legal, state sanctioned, marijuana businesses. Financial institutions who provide banking services to legitimate marijuana businesses are currently vulnerable to criminal prosecution under Federal law. The federal government has made significant attempts to ameliorate the trepidation financial institutions have towards servicing an industry that still illegal on a federal level. And while AG assurances and The Heck Amendment have clearly offered substantial protection to institutions willing to service the industry, they’re still very few financial organizations that have stepped up. There are currently zero financial institutions in Oregon who are overtly accommodating marijuana industry stakeholders. In Washington state, there are just a couple of credit unions ( Salal and Numerica) who provide accounts to cannabis businesses.
A lack of banking services for marijuana businesses is a legitimate public safety issue. Forcing business to operate in all cash creates a serious safety risk for the businesses and the neighboring community. By allowing banks to service legitimate state-regulated marijuana businesses, this bill will help law enforcement protect our communities, and help state and federal taxing agencies collect taxes due on state-sanctioned marijuana sales.
The Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act of 2015:
Provides safe harbor for depository institutions by preventing Federal banking regulators from:
Terminating or limiting a depository institutions’ Deposit Insurance under the FDIC for providing services to a state-sanctioned and regulated marijuana business solely because that institution is providing services to a legitimate state-sanctioned and regulated marijuana business;
Prohibiting, penalizing, or discouraging a depository institutions from providing financial services to a legitimate state-sanctioned and regulated marijuana business;
Recommending or incentivizing a depository institution to halt or downgrade providing any kind of banking services to these businesses;
Taking any action on a loan to an owner or operator of a marijuana-related business.
Creates safe harbor from liability and asset forfeiture for institutions and their officers and employees who provide financial services to legitimate marijuana businesses pursuant to state law.
Does not require a depository institution to provide financial services to a marijuanarelated legitimate business.
Requires depository institutions to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) under the Bank Secrecy Act pursuant to relevant Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) guidance.
